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Otago Halls of Residence
- Thread starter Pineapple
- Start date
You don't have to book a shuttle, but there's something to be said for booking in advance. Kiwi shuttles and Dunedin city taxis both do good shuttle services at $20 or less, but you pretty much have to book. At the airport you can always go super shuttles without a booking, but that's expensive ($30).
And yeah, DON'T GET A TAXI. Too many first years have fallen into that trap.
And yeah, DON'T GET A TAXI. Too many first years have fallen into that trap.
Crucible
the nightmare stag
OMG [MENTION=8443]xyz[/MENTION]! (nice username btw hahah) I've always wanted someone to hold a sign with my name on it at the airport!! 
p I do realise I sound really immature hahahahhah)
But I quite like the idea of booking in advance (it makes everything feel more concrete/secure, if that makes sense)...hmmm...I'll have to try convince my dad though (he's the LET'S-LOOK-AROUND-ONCE-WE'RE-THERE type)
Of course not! That'd be silly since taxis are always over-priced.
p I do realise I sound really immature hahahahhah)But I quite like the idea of booking in advance (it makes everything feel more concrete/secure, if that makes sense)...hmmm...I'll have to try convince my dad though (he's the LET'S-LOOK-AROUND-ONCE-WE'RE-THERE type)
Of course not! That'd be silly since taxis are always over-priced.
lalalarry
Regular Member
ok, so i've been down to otago uni open day and had a look at the colleges to see what they were like. i went to unicol, st mags, arana and carrington. (didn't have time for others unfortnately)
so here were my opinions:
unicol- ok.
st mags- really nice, like a boarding school. but atmosphere seemed a bit... depressing... and strict. felt like if i went there, i'd get lots of work done but i'd also feel a bit oppressed. like i wouldn't be able to show my crazy side there (and when i say crazy, i DON'T mean drunk. i'm just naturally a loud and happy person. though of course, this was just based on my 30min tour so who knows, i could be wrong!)
arana- really nice as well, good culture/atmosphere except did worry a bit about the party culture in the hall.
carrington- also really nice, same comment as arana except for the party bit. but i'm lazy and it's not on campus. yes, i know it's a 5 min walk but like i said, LAZY! but if i did end up going there, i wouldn't mind too much walking.
that being said, i don't know which one to choose! so far, i'm dithering between arana and carrington as my first choice. i'm just wondering what other people's thoughts and experiences were on the halls? and also on halls i havnt mentioned because i still have to decide what to put down for 2nd and third choice.
cheers!
so here were my opinions:
unicol- ok.
st mags- really nice, like a boarding school. but atmosphere seemed a bit... depressing... and strict. felt like if i went there, i'd get lots of work done but i'd also feel a bit oppressed. like i wouldn't be able to show my crazy side there (and when i say crazy, i DON'T mean drunk. i'm just naturally a loud and happy person. though of course, this was just based on my 30min tour so who knows, i could be wrong!)
arana- really nice as well, good culture/atmosphere except did worry a bit about the party culture in the hall.
carrington- also really nice, same comment as arana except for the party bit. but i'm lazy and it's not on campus. yes, i know it's a 5 min walk but like i said, LAZY! but if i did end up going there, i wouldn't mind too much walking.
that being said, i don't know which one to choose! so far, i'm dithering between arana and carrington as my first choice. i'm just wondering what other people's thoughts and experiences were on the halls? and also on halls i havnt mentioned because i still have to decide what to put down for 2nd and third choice.
cheers!
Carrington may have a 5 minute walk (which is still absolute luxury - my flat this year is a 10 min walk from class and that's really good), but it also means you don't live on the uni campus. I dunno, something about living in the same place you go to class seems like it'd make it hard to properly "switch off" at the end of the day!
I do seem to be the great supporter of Carrington on this forum though.
I do seem to be the great supporter of Carrington on this forum though.
lalalarry
Regular Member
do... i can't really tell if you're saying YES CARRINGTON or NO, IT INCLUDES FIVE MINUTE WALK here... XD
i mean, from what i've read about and heard about, if you want to get into medicine and work hard, you'll get in regardless of which hall you get into.
so that means i just have to decide between a non party/drinking culture at carrington despite the five min walk... or....
the potentially party/drinking culture at arana which is on site.
if that makes sense
I'd suggest you'll enjoy yourself at either hall, and that you're eventually going to have to make your own decision, MSO can't make it for you
lalalarry
Regular Member
I'd suggest you'll enjoy yourself at either hall, and that you're eventually going to have to make your own decision, MSO can't make it for you
yeah, i probably will ae
but i wonder if there are any other good halls people have enjoyed? like studhulme, selwyn and... other ones....
because i didn't get round to seeing all of them on open day
Don't know much about Studhulme or Selwyn to be honest (was at UniCol meself). The 'typical HSFY' colleges are Smags, Carry, Arana, and maybe Knox. Seriously though, they're all good, and the differences (particularly in terms of 'part culture') between the colleges are over-stated in my opinion. Personally if I had to re-choose colleges I'd probably just pick based on proximity to uni (so either Arana, UniCol, Smags (although Smags scares me), or Studhulme).yeah, i probably will ae
but i wonder if there are any other good halls people have enjoyed? like studhulme, selwyn and... other ones....
because i didn't get round to seeing all of them on open day
lalalarry
Regular Member
st mags scares you, haha! sorry, i hope that didn't sound mean. the word that most accurately describes my reaction was lol. though admittedly, it did scare me a little! very harry potter-esque.
in the end, i'll probably do that and just choose for convenience sake.
[OFFTOPIC]i'm a very lazy person. very. so i will probably go for arana but an alcohol free floor. maybe i'll be one of the lucky few and get put in a house! and while we're on that note, OMG saw a carrington house room and seriously, it's like, bigger than the room i have now![/OFFTOPIC]
I was saying that the 5 minute walk can actually be a positive... so yes to carrington.
(I was also saying that, to me, it seems a bit silly to complain about a 5 minute walk when you'll most likely end up with a longer walk than that when you go flatting).
lalalarry
Regular Member
yeah... well, i'm gonna take it one little baby step at a time ae. first i move out of house into hall. then a year later, that's when i'll start thinking about flatting!
yeah, the five min walk to carrington may be my main source of exercise!
Although I've been told I'll enjoy any dorm I get in, but I can't help but stereotype and ask, in terms of 'culture,' which ones are the more quiet ones?
Well not really 'quiet,' I just want to avoid 'party' dorms with heaps of people who don't take their studies seriously because I get distracted and led really easily!
My first choice is definitely Smags.
I've heard you shouldn't put down popular dorms as your second and third choices as you probably won't be considered then. Then... can someone briefly tell me a bit about suitable dorms and the really popular ones I probably shouldn't even write down?
Well not really 'quiet,' I just want to avoid 'party' dorms with heaps of people who don't take their studies seriously because I get distracted and led really easily!
My first choice is definitely Smags.
I've heard you shouldn't put down popular dorms as your second and third choices as you probably won't be considered then. Then... can someone briefly tell me a bit about suitable dorms and the really popular ones I probably shouldn't even write down?
Well you've answered your own question there, lol. Smags is probably as quiet as they get (although I have heard you can hear UniCol's Saturday night antics from Smags).
And you heard correctly, the likes of Carrington, Arana, Smags, etc. supposedly don't really pick those who haven't put them as first preference (although it's always possible you could get into one off the waitlist, however unlikely).
Honestly, just put down the hall you really want as your first choice (you seem to have chosen Smags), then maybe list some of the less-popular-but-still-good halls as second and third preference (Hayward looks amazing, but I'm not sure if they take second-choicers, Selwyn looks alright, and UniCol is a lot less crazy than people make it out to be, especially since the HSFYs are largely lumped together in the UniCol flats across the road from the college).
Selwyn is not a good second choice lol. I remember when I was in first year it was the hardest to get into (in terms of number of first choicers per bed), so unless things have dramatically changed, avoid as a backup.
I'd seriously look into Aquinas if I were you - quiet and definitely not one of the more popular halls. Hayward would be good (but as froot has alluded, getting more competitive), and Cumberland is meant to be pretty decent right now. Cumberland (unlike the other halls) would put you on a floor where everyone is HSFY, so you'd be guaranteed quiet around tests at least.
I'd seriously look into Aquinas if I were you - quiet and definitely not one of the more popular halls. Hayward would be good (but as froot has alluded, getting more competitive), and Cumberland is meant to be pretty decent right now. Cumberland (unlike the other halls) would put you on a floor where everyone is HSFY, so you'd be guaranteed quiet around tests at least.
Selwyn is hard to get into? 
You learn something new every day...
Cumby isn't the only hall that do that, UniCol does too (I was one of the very few HSFYs at UniCol not put in one of the flats/the alcohol free floor... Guess it turned out alright in the end though, haha). I'd also like to point out (to the year 13's) that there is a lot to be said for not just living around HSFYs.
You learn something new every day...Cumby isn't the only hall that do that, UniCol does too (I was one of the very few HSFYs at UniCol not put in one of the flats/the alcohol free floor... Guess it turned out alright in the end though, haha). I'd also like to point out (to the year 13's) that there is a lot to be said for not just living around HSFYs.
I looked up Carrington too, and now can't decide between that and Smags as my first choice...
And we were actually given a list of which dorms are only suited as first choices:
Selwyn, Knox -- little places
Arana -- "fashionable at the moment"
Smags, Carrington, Hayward -- Popular
What would be some good second choices? How about Cumby?
(Thanks for the advice guys!)
The ones you're yet to mention:
Salmond, Studholme (neither of which I know anything about).
Aquinas :Apparently Aquinas is a good hall, but the half-hour walk/catching the college shuttle to uni would put me off Aquinas, personally.
UniCol: Wich I'm going to put in a good word for, I really enjoyed my time at UniCol, and it's so super-conveniently close to uni.
Toroa: Just sounds weird, not going to lie.
CityCol: Better than a lot of people seem to think, it's a little bit further away from uni than most of the other colleges (like, 7 mins walk), and sure, there a polytech students there, which seems to scare people, but I had a mate at CityCol, and what from what I saw of the place it seemed pretty cool.
As for Cumberland, I've always been under the impression it's quite the 'party hall', much like UniCol. Although to be honest, those reputations are largely spread by people who haven't been to said colleges...
Personally, if I had to chose preferences again (Obviously my list is somewhat subjective):
1) Carrington (Because you'd know like half the second-year med class before you even start second-year)
2) UniCol (I like UniCol, in case you hadn't guessed
)3) Probably either CityCol or Cumberland